badmix
1/2 ton status
What size/kind/brand for my K5 Blazer, w/ 2" lift and 33s
CK5
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Stupid question time - Jack stands....
- Thread starter badmix
- Start date
12 ton harbor freights
This ^^
It can be funny how things look sometimes.
Personal experience tells me, none, I've yet to meet a jack stand I trust.
I've got a real nice set of 6 ton Harbor Freight ones that I've used maybe three times, I had the big green diesel Ford on them when I was getting the tires swapped out, and after sitting on them for about 3 hours, I came outside to find the front rotors sitting in the gravel, the jack stand either let down, broke, or sank. Sinking is unlikely since they were sitting on plywood.
Now I either block the actual jack, or put it on the big steel ones I made.
I've got a real nice set of 6 ton Harbor Freight ones that I've used maybe three times, I had the big green diesel Ford on them when I was getting the tires swapped out, and after sitting on them for about 3 hours, I came outside to find the front rotors sitting in the gravel, the jack stand either let down, broke, or sank. Sinking is unlikely since they were sitting on plywood.
Now I either block the actual jack, or put it on the big steel ones I made.
Jack stands work best on concrete.
agree also, since they get the truck high in the air
just check the roll pins that connect the release cam to the actual lifting arm. If they come out, the jack doesn't fail, it just wont adjust. You'll need to replace the pin with something, I've got a screw in mine since it's not load baring.
I have some AC Delco 6 tons that I got from oreilly. The feet have a flat lip that stands better on a block or sketchy surfaces.
agree also, since they get the truck high in the air
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right it's the height and just overall beef of the 12 T that is nice.. not like you need to hold up 12 T's...
rampage
3/4 ton status
I'd go with either stacked cinder blocks
Or my personal favorite, a couple of 4x4's
Or my personal favorite, a couple of 4x4's
lol, before I scrolled down I thought you were serious.
Many years ago when what little brains I had were usually swimming in beer, I used cinder blocks to lift my truck. I was crawling all around under it for hours then took a break to get some dinner. When I came back to the truck there were cracked pieces of cinder block everywhere and the truck was on the ground. I got incredibly lucky that it happened when I was taking a break. Lesson learned.
If I need to droop the suspension, I'll put stands under the frame. But that usually means cinder blocks. I'll stand them up (as apposed to laying them down in the picture) and use 2x4 pallet I put together. The pallet goes on top of the blocks and the stand on top of the pallet to evenly spread the load across 2 blocks.
it's poor wording most of the time.. most people are using cement block, not cinder.. not even sure they make cinder blocks anymore... stooooopidly huge difference, cement blocks weigh like 25 lb's a piece, whereas a cinder block is like, 5.......
and keep in mind, all cement block is not the same, it comes in different psi, etc.... holes should always be vertical.. we put 60,000 lb boats on cement block every day...
but certain precautions should always be taken... double stacking the block is always wise in case you do get a block that cracks... (it happens on occasion during the winter with big boats) not that it's gonna turn to dust and crush you, but double stacking ensures no issues...
and often overlooked but more importantly, ALWAYS have a piece of wood of some sort on top of the cement... metal on cement block is a recipe for a cracked block...
and keep in mind, all cement block is not the same, it comes in different psi, etc.... holes should always be vertical.. we put 60,000 lb boats on cement block every day...
but certain precautions should always be taken... double stacking the block is always wise in case you do get a block that cracks... (it happens on occasion during the winter with big boats) not that it's gonna turn to dust and crush you, but double stacking ensures no issues...
and often overlooked but more importantly, ALWAYS have a piece of wood of some sort on top of the cement... metal on cement block is a recipe for a cracked block...
Half of my family owns homes sitting on cinder/concrete blocks from the 60's or 70's... It is not that they can not be used. It is more of a storage solution where you are not working under the rig.
I just bought a pair of the HF 12 tons as well. I'd prefer a regular through pin design but those are hard to find for a decent price.
there's absolutely nothing wrong with working under it, other than the bulk of a double pile.. certainly not a safety issue, I work under blocked boats daily that'll dead ya a lot quicker than a car/truck.....
just a peeve of mine... car guys thinking they're smart, "oh, that's unsafe, blah, blah" when it's not the case when done right...
btw, obviously, the above Jeep was NOT done safely...
The average guy working at home doesn't understand PSI ratings of concrete. That and the fact that there is the potential for a lot of hammering/cussing/tools flying through the air when you bust a knuckle... it isn't necessarily unsafe, just not recommended for the average person. It is much easier to be sure the steel jack stand with a load rating printed on the side is safe than to calculate the load capacity of the concrete blocks on the fly.
not to be argumentative but ANY cement block has more of a load capacity than is needed... I just mentioned the psi rating for the uninformed.. I haven't seen an actual cinder block anywhere in decades...
plenty of average idiot yard guys blocking boats down that are 30 to 40 tons.. it's not rocket science if the simple guidelines I mentioned are followed... that said, looking at the above pic, apparently there are plenty of stoooopid people in this world..
if I put a car on cement blocks, I don't care how much cussing, hammer throwing, etc you do, it's not gonna come down.. as a matter of fact, you can TRY to shake it off and it'll laugh at you... whereas, you put one on stands, I'll bet the farm, I can shake it off and kill you...
plenty of average idiot yard guys blocking boats down that are 30 to 40 tons.. it's not rocket science if the simple guidelines I mentioned are followed... that said, looking at the above pic, apparently there are plenty of stoooopid people in this world..
if I put a car on cement blocks, I don't care how much cussing, hammer throwing, etc you do, it's not gonna come down.. as a matter of fact, you can TRY to shake it off and it'll laugh at you... whereas, you put one on stands, I'll bet the farm, I can shake it off and kill you...
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You may have a point. The story I related did indeed happen decades ago. Also it was cinder block, not concrete block so much more fragile.
Obviously they make buildings out of it, so it's plenty strong when used right, but as I illustrated in my youth
doing it wrong is plenty easy and dangerous.
